Tidal Power; a Clean, Reliable Source of Energy

Tidal power is in effect harnessing the moon’s colossal gravitational power in a clean way that could help meet the world’s increasing power needs. Tidal power is one of the most reliable sources of energy and it occurs through transforming the moon’s gravitational pull into electricity. Due to the fact that it would be using the moon’s gravity, tidal energy can be produced almost anywhere conditions are right, since the moon’s gravity affects the world almost equally except for the poles. Here is a diagram showing how the moon’s and the sun’s gravity creates the tides, although the sun has very little impact compared to the moon because of its much greater distance to the earth. Therefore, it will show in the diagram below that the moon causes the earth’s water to bulge many times higher than the sun does, although sometimes they support each other.

Tidal Power is very similar to wind power but it has extra benefits that wind power does not. For instance, since water has a higher density than air, it has a higher potential to produce power. Wind farms take up a large amount of space and are only economically efficient in certain windy areas, meaning that the cost to buy the land is relatively higher than it is in water areas, which are rarely used by humans and therefore are not very expensive. Tidal power would probably be a fairly good source of energy considering that it is normally in the form of a two-way dam (it could just be turbines out in the ocean but that method is not very efficient.) However there is one large impediment, which happens to be that there are not all that many places that are economically effective using tidal power. Normally this would render tidal power almost completely useless but since tidal power is a very productive source, it would be quite possible to artificially create the sites. Currently tidal power has not been completely developed technology-wise and therefore there is more potential than most people realize.

The diagram above illustrates of how tidal power is normally generated. Much like a regular dam, water is built up in a basin from the ocean and once there is low tide, the basin’s water is released through a small underwater tunnel, spinning the turbine and generating electricity. Then during high tide the ocean’s water turns the propeller. This method it is much like a dam, only it works in two ways, which means more power for less effort. Tidal energy is similar to the type of energy that the old-fashion windmills generated long ago, but since then, it has become mostly out of use, as were most other types of energy because coal, natural gas and oil were much cheaper. But since those are non-renewable power sources, we are starting to run out of it. Because we are depleting our fossil fuels, tidal power might come back, only much more technologically advanced than before and therefore more cost-effective. Furthermore, the tidal power stations would create no pollution. Therefore people do not mind using it and the energy would be somewhat cheaper than it otherwise would be because then they do not have to spend all the money necessary to make their power plants cleaner. Although tidal power uses a very productive method, is a renewable resource and does not create pollution, there is still one problem. There are very few natural locations where humans can base tidal power stations. Even with creating artificial areas where tidal power dams can be placed, there will still not be enough power generated by tidal power alone to fuel the world’s growing power needs. So tidal power would have to become a co-supporter of the world energy needs rather then the sole supporter.

The illustration above shows how the tidal power typically works. When high tide enters, the ocean water comes into the basin; then, during low tides, the water in the basin is released into the ocean and the cycle starts all over again. When the water is sent either way, it creates electricity, meaning that it constantly generates power and therefore provides a reasonable amount per tidal power dam. There are other methods that exist although those are not quite as economically efficient: for instance, you can have a turbine attached to a boat; or you could have propellers such as on a wind farm underwater like the one shown on the cover page.

The Department of Energy has shown great enthusiasm regarding tidal power as a future energy source than any other renewable energy sources. Our philosophy regarding energy will change drastically from the present into the future. In a society with increasing energy demands and decreasing supplies, we must look to the future and developed our best potential renewable resource. Tidal power fits the bill, a natural source of energy with many benefits. The planet's tidal capability greatly exceeds that of the world’s entire coal and oil supply. It is an ideal source of energy with great potential. When developed, tidal power could be a primary provider for our future energy requirements.

The key part of this quote is the fact that it says that tidal power has not been fully developed. In other words, tidal power can already compete against all the other sources of renewable energies but still it has much more potential. According to eLibrary, “The tidal power dam built in La Rance, off the coast of France, generates power at 3.7 cents for every kilowatt while nuclear power plants charge 3.8 cents and thermal plants charge 10.5 cents per kilowatt.” This would signify that tidal power is already doing very well economically as well as environmentally. Although tidal power is a very new source of energy, it has already proven that it is environmentally safe and dependable.

Some companies, such as Welsh Tidal Power, have already jumped aboard and are building more tidal power dams right now, most of, which are being built around the English coastline. Currently it is predicted that even without artificially building the power sites and with only our current technology, tidal power could supply twenty percent of England’s power needs. This number could easily double or even triple in the near future once companies start building artificial power sites and our technology has developed more.

“Two case studies, Annapolis Royal and La Rance, prove that tidal power plants are capable of producing reliable and efficient power.” According to Drew Hammond and Lee Newsome. Hammond and Newsome have researched two tidal power generators and have reached the conclusion that it is probably the best alternative to the non-renewable fossil fuels, which the world is so heavily dependent on. Now it is time to revert to an environmentally and economically safe, efficient way to generate the electricity our world needs. Nothing is more reliable than tidal energy, not even solar power (because of the clouds and the nights when you cannot generate power,) for tidal power uses the moons gravity, a force that will likely not disappear until long after the human race has gone. Almost everyone who has studied tidal power to a reasonable extent has reached the conclusion that it constitutes a very viable source of energy for the future. They have reached this conclusion because everything is sided in favor of tidal power plants except for the fact that some locations must be artificially constructed. Tidal power is environmentally safe; even though some people worry that the propellers will kill the fish. However that is not true because all you need to stop fish from getting killed is to have grates over the entrances to the propellers. Tidal power is also economically efficient and will become more so in the future.